For centuries, perhaps ever since the horse was first domesticated, people have raced their horses against each other, to see which man owned the faster animal. Countless generations of breeding the fastest stallion to the best mares has led to the modern racehorse, a magnificent running machine, genetically selected to excel in the modern version of “the sport of kings,” a sport that still thrives across the globe today.
Since the sport first began, people have bought, sold and traded young horses, with dreams of acquiring a horse that might one day mature into a stakes winner. A huge business has developed around the breeding, preparation, and sale of potential racehorses. Potential buyers pore over sales catalogs, searching the horse's parentage and pedigree in hope of selecting a horse that contains just the right mix of speed, stamina, durability and temperament to grow into a successful racehorse. The racing candidate is carefully examined to make sure its legs are straight, the airway is clear, and that there are no physical blemishes or infirmities that might diminish its chance of future success. “Experts,” sometimes boasting of years of experience at spotting future champions long before the horse ever sets foot on a racetrack, are regularly consulted to scrutinize the field of candidates, and help the would-be owner select a horse that possess the right conformation, the right carriage, the right glint in the eye—the stuff of champions.
But despite all the statistical analysis of pedigree, the pre-sale poking and prodding, and the intense scrutiny of a countless number of trained eyes, separating the future winners from the future losers has remained an inexact science at best. In a study of all named (i.e., registered) Thoroughbred foals born between 1985 and 1994, only about 30% ever started a single race, and the average earnings per start of all foals was only $1,378. Selecting the offspring of the top 1% of stallions reduced the percentage of non-starters to about 15%, and increased the average earnings per start to over $3,000, but still, a large percentage of all young horses sold at auction fail to recoup their original purchase price. One has only to look to the results of this year's Kentucky Derby to see how inaccurate the selection of racehorse candidates can be: the race was won by Funny Cide, once a $75,000 purchase, while numerous horses from the same crop that sold for much more, even ten or more times as much, failed to even win a single maiden race.
Accordingly, better methods for screening potential racehorse candidates are needed, particularly methods that will increase the chances of selecting a horse that is more likely to become a high earner, while decreasing the likelihood of selecting a horses that will turn out to be a low earner. The present invention is directed to these, as well as other ends.